On July 9, 2025, Melinda French Gates revealed at the Power of Women’s Sports Summit that she would not invest in her daughter Phoebe Gates’ startup, Phia, emphasising the importance of independent entrepreneurship.
While speaking alongside Billie Jean King, Melinda, who has a net worth of $31 billion, explained her decision not to invest in Phoebe’s digital fashion platform, Phia, which was launched in 2024. “I wouldn’t put money into it,” she stated, emphasising the challenges women face in securing investments and the necessity for resilience. Melinda believes that to validate Phia as a “real business,” others need to support it, which would help foster Phoebe’s growth.
Melinda French Gates refuses to fund daughter’s startup despite $31 billion net worth https://t.co/i2IS94rZ9V pic.twitter.com/DAgiLuWWBy
— New York Post (@nypost) July 8, 2025Phoebe, 22, co-founded Phia with Sophia Kianni, aggregating clothing prices across 40,000 websites, raising over $500,000 from venture capitalists, per The New York Times. SHe echoed Melinda’s stance by stating, “We don’t want this funded by my family.” Phoebe, a 2024 Stanford graduate, rejected the idea of dropping out like her father, Bill Gates. Bill praised her independence, noting that he would have imposed “business reviews” if he were funding her.
The Gates family, including Jennifer, 30, and Rory, 25, limits inheritance to under 1% of Bill’s fortune, encouraging self-made paths, per Bloomberg. Melinda’s refusal reflects this principle, despite her $13.5 billion in charitable donations since 2022. Critics view it as harsh, while supporters, with 60% approving of parental non-funding, see it as empowering.
